


Dig Two Graves

by ZenyZootSuit



Series: Kingdom As I See It [5]
Category: Kingdom Netflix, 킹덤 | Kingdom (TV 2019)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Character Study, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kingdom Weekly, Off-Screen Murder, Passive Suicidality, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24809713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZenyZootSuit/pseuds/ZenyZootSuit
Summary: "Before you embark on the journey of revenge, dig two graves." -ConfuciusChang's trauma began when he was a tiny child. It only intensified as he grew into a young man.
Relationships: Prince Lee Chang & Lord Ahn Hyeon
Series: Kingdom As I See It [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1740082
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	Dig Two Graves

**Author's Note:**

> Aka why Chang wears his hair like a married man but was a virgin when he met Yeong-shin. 
> 
> Passive suicidality warning: Chang is very cavalier with his life here, hence the warning. The murder is not of any major characters. This is mostly a hurt/comfort fic. 
> 
> Written for Kingdom Weekly's prompt: Revenge
> 
> It’s been brought to my attention that the basis of this fic is unclear for those who have not seen a certain interview with the creator. If you find yourself in this situation, please pause and read my reply to the lovely TheDragonWriter2000’s comment :33

*******

Chang was a pupil of Lord Ahn Hyeon, and for that reason (and in that moment, the only reason) he had to be a good little royal. He respected the Lord, his _real_ father in all ways that mattered outside of matters of blood. He did not want to disappoint him, did not want to disrespect him by throwing all of his teachings by the wayside. At least, did not want him to know about it.

Which was why, at fifteen years old, a simple crack across the face sent him to his knees and brought tears to his eyes.

“I’m sorry...” Chang whispered, head bowed as a potent mix of emotions made his head spin.

Lord Ahn stood in front of him, a mixture of pain, anger, and...was that _fear_...plain on his face. “No you’re not.”

Chang’s own rage, pain, and fear boiled over then at the drop of a gat. “You right!” he _screamed_. “I’m not sorry! He would have deserved every ounce of it if I had succeeded!”

“Yes,” Lord Ahn agreed, his eyes growing misty. “But at the expense of your life.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do know that, my boy. I know that even if it hadn’t been you who slipped poison into his drink and put _pit vipers_ in his _office_ , that they would have twisted it into a reason to depose and execute you as a traitor. I am only grateful that I managed to catch you when I did!”

Chang broke down in tears, the _agony_ of it all overwhelming him. “They killed her!”

“I know, child.” Lord Ahn drew him into his arms, letting Chang bawl into his shoulder as he held him close and rubbed his back. “I know.”

He let Chang cry himself out, a hand stroking soothingly over his hair, careful not to touch the _donggot_ adorning it, the metal shiny new and terribly cold.

Much like Chang’s heart had become since...

Lord Ahn sighed thickly, pressing a kiss to the side of Chang’s head before resuming the soothing motions of his hand. “You are angry. You should be. This situation you have been born into is not fair. But this is not the way.”

Chang wrenched himself out of his mentor’s arms.

Lord Ahn reached after him. “Chang...”

For a brief moment, Chang thought to shout at his mentor, thought to ridicule him for daring to call him by his given name, let alone touch or smack him. Ultimately though , he did not because he would not have meant a word of it, and Lord Ahn would know it. And thinking of seeing his mentor regard him with that sad, disappointed look threatened to bring a fresh wave of tears down his cheeks.

“They _poisoned_ her...” he said instead, breath stuttering in his chest.

Lord Ahn spoke no further, simply bearing witness to Chang’s pain.

The young prince could not help the sobs that stuttered his words, nor the tears that poured down his face. “She was only married to me for a matter of hours! The only things I knew about her were her name and her family, and she still died for me! _Because of me!”_

“Chang...”

“It was meant for me...” Chang buried his face in his hands, overcome by grief. “ _It should have been me!”_

His hands were ripped away from his face and he was backhanded across the face. Chang did not even try to stay on his feet. He fell to the ground, grief dragging him down more so than the blow. Then Lord Ahn was folding him into his arms again, clutching him tightly. Chang’s eyes went wide as he felt how his mentor shook.

“Don’t you dare speak like that,” Lord Ahn nearly hissed. “Don’t you dare!”

Chang melted into his mentor’s embrace once more, accepting the comfort that was so readily offered. As he was a grown man now, it was rarely offered anymore, replaced instead by formal bows and respectful distance.

They stayed like that late into the night, Chang burning himself out from crying as images of his new wife on the floor, desperately clutching at her throat as froth fell from her lips and she reached out to him where he stood in utter panic. He had run to her, scooping her into his arms —to hell with propriety, the girl was dying!— and _begged_ for help, but there was none to be had.

She died in his arms in agony. All because he existed, and she had been unlucky enough to be chosen to marry him.

Eventually the tears dried up, but he remained where he was, sagging into his mentor’s chest, staring at nothing.

“You must always remember, Chang,” Lord Ahn murmured, his cheek still resting against the top of Chang’s head. “That before you embark on the journey of revenge, dig two graves.”

“Confucius.” Chang snorted bitterly. “Do you mean to tell me that I am to let the murder of my wife stand? The wife that you, the ministers, and my father forced on me despite my fears that this very thing would happen?”

Lord Ahn ignored the barb. It was true after all. “No, but you will not do it like this. Not at the cost of your own life.”

“Why not? It is my life after all, am I not to do with it what I wish?”

Chang had been expecting another slap for that, might have even been wanting one if only to make the vast ocean of anguish he felt just a bit more tangible, but he received nothing of the sort.

“No, it is not. You are the only one alive who might one day wield the power to dethrone the Haewon Cho clan. You are the only one who has any chance of saving this Kingdom from them.” His mentor paused. “But you would forfeit that responsibility for a taste of petty revenge?”

Chang sat up. “Would it not accomplish the same thing?”

His mentor regarded him firmly. “No, it would not. Because in the wake of your death, who would rule but a puppet regime under the direction of the remaining members of the Cho clan?”

Chang...had not thought of that. He ducked his head in remorse, murmuring an apology.

Lord Ahn only sighed. “You have suffered a great loss at such a young age. It is not a fault in your character that you desire revenge, and you will have it. You will rise to the throne and take power away from them despite everything they have done and will do to keep you from it, and looking down on them from that throne will be your revenge.”

The metal piece in his hair felt heavier than lead.

“In the mean time,” Lord Ahn went on. “We will find you a new wife—“

“No.”

Lord Ahn’s reply was patient, but insistent. “Chang, you must be married—“

“I was married.”

“Do not be obtuse,” Lord Ahn chided him. “You must produce an heir to strengthen you line and your position.”

Chang _seethed_. “At the cost of the lives of how many women? Of how many _children_ for that matter? If they have done this to me, they will do this to my children!”

“Your father will insist upon it.”

“No.” Chang’s reply was firm and ice cold. “I do not care. I will not do it. No one else will die in my stead.”

“Chang—“

Chang cut him off. “Not until,” he said slowly, articulating each word with painful precision. “I can be certain that any woman I marry, anyone I am involved with in any sense of the word will be safe, I will not do it.”

Lord Ahn seemed to find that almost amusing. “You are a young man, Chang.”

And Chang _hated_ that implication. “Whatever I may feel, whatever I may desire is not worth someone else’s life! That is the core of what you have taught me! No, from this point forward I will be involved with no one, will be friendly with no one, so they will have no one to hold over my head until the day I take the throne.”

Lord Ahn’s eyes were unbelievably sad. “Do you understand what it is that you are saying? Fully, do you understand what your life will look like?”

“Yes.” Chang swallowed hard, a terrible grimace on his face. “What choice do I have?”

The breath Lord Ahn let out was sharp and pained as he drew Chang back into his arms. “None, my boy. You are right. You have none.”

Chang squeezed his eyes shut.

If he buried his face in his mentor’s robes like he used to as a small child, there was no one else there to see it.

** El _Fin_ **

**Author's Note:**

> And there you have it folks! I was originally planning on keeping this a secret until I brought it up in How Do You Measure Seven Years, but I couldn't resist this opportunity. More information will be given in my other fic when I decide to bring it up there. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you so much for reading!


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